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Running ahead of Akina through the tall grass, Brimstone was exercising his new favorite activity: running and jumping. Somehow, the boy had finally mastered complete balance to the point that Akina could no longer slow him down by running him in a path of uneven ground until he stumbled and was caught. So, cackling like a fiend, Brim took to hopping off of any surface that he could manage to get on top of, which was causing more problems than his elf guardian would have liked.

"Brim, slow down. There will be plenty of time to run and jump later." Over the months of caring for Brimstone, Akina had become more and more maternal, worrying over every little exploit that her toddler hatched. So, why, she asked herself, was she taking him to Bass'ken Lake?

Shaking away her concerns, Akina finally caught up with her son who was busy examining some rocks gathered at the edge of the lake. She set down the picnic basket she had brought and carefully laid out a large blanket for them to sit on. Hearing the creak of the wicker basket, Brim came tearing back to his mother, clutching her arm and shouting, "FOOD!"

The elf laughed lightly, opening the picnic basket and pulling out a small tupperware container of small green circles. Removing the lid, she passed them off to Brim, knowing that a fork was not a necessity to her child. The Shattered child was teeming with excitement today, which was a nice change from his usual bipolar mood swings.

"Capers!" he declared officially before diving headfirst into the bowl. Akina sighed and pulled Brim into a seated position, still wondering why in the world her son had chosen capers as his favorite food.

Glancing over to the lake, Akina ran a stray hand through her son's hair. "Don't eat too fast. I don't want you to get a tummy ache and not be able to go swimming."

Having just poured herself a cup of Elvish tea from her thermos, Akina's sharp hearing picked up a 'splash' from a few yards away. She glanced up in its direction, seeing ripples on the water's surface. "Brim," she began, rising to her feet and setting her sandwich back inside the picnic basket. "Stay here for a moment." Sure, it might not be anything, but Akina had to make sure that no one was drowning.

Stalking toward the direction of the noise, the elf could swear she heard voices and the scream of a child. That was enough to quicken Akina's pace, and it wasn't long before she saw a blur of purple moving toward her. "Hello?" she called, growing concerned over the waves of fear coming off of the child as her empath abilities soaked them up.

"LAKE MONSTER!"

The elf jumped and looked over her shoulder. There stood Brim, pointing at the strange girl, with a smear of crushed capers at the corners of his mouth. Akina scooped her son up in her arms, despite his attempts to escape and get away from this "Lake Monster", as she approached Papree and noted the fish-smelling figure moving in behind her.

For a moment, the elf nearly snatched up Papree and ran, fearing the intent of the one who was pursuing her, but Akina sensed no aggression or hatred coming from the older woman so she remain steadfast, dropping to a knee as Papree got closer to her.

"Are you okay?" she offered, hoping to lend a hand if necessary. Brim, of course, was still clutching at Akina's neck, refusing to look at the Lake Monster.

Apparently, there had been a Swamp Man movie on last night, and knowing Brim's affection for the television, Akina did not doubt for a second that this was the source of his panic. She made a mental note to scold Naraka for letting him watch it later, but for now, Akina was far more concerned with the task at hand.

Gently patting Papree's back, Akina looked up to Seraphim and smiled amiably. "Oh, it's no trouble. I just heard a splash and a scream and... well, here we are. Is she yours?" Judging by the wet woman before her, the elf could assume that she had fallen in the water safely. Perhaps that had been what scared the small purple-haired girl?

Though Brimstone had been hiding in the crook of Akina's neck, the sound of a fish hitting the ground snapped his attention back. The Shattered slipped out of his mother's arms and began making his way toward the poor fish menacingly, but before he could pounce, Akina carefully picked up the guppy and tossed in back into the water of the lake with a steady hand.

Brim went wide-eyed as the fish flew over his head, jumping to try and catch it, but his chubby toddler legs didn't exactly give him the necessary bounce to grab the little guppy. It was only then that he turned to face Papree, noting finally that maybe she wasn't a lake monster.

"Oh," Akina replied quietly, slightly disturbed by Seraphim's revelation as to Papree's origins. Having never met Asrafel, the elf wondered for a moment if the woman before her was kidding or not. "I'm Akina, by the way," she offered, happy to change the subject. "And this little guy is Brimstone."

Reaching a hand back, Akina curled her son closer to her as he tensed up in defiance, not breaking eye contact with Papree. He liked her hair. The color. It was the same kind of glow-y hue of his hair, and therefore, it was superior to all others. Leaning forward, he sniffed at her for a moment, turning up his nose at the overriding smell of fish.

Ignoring the fishy smell, Akina shook Seraphim's outstretched hand, hoping that the woman would introduce herself. Having no such luck, the elf asked, "Um, and who might I ask are you both?"

Brimstone continued to watch Papree, inching closer and closer toward her hair. Just like his fascination with Shauna's tail, the little Shattered really, really, really wanted to touch the big purple mane that sprouted from his new acquaintances head.

Slowly, he extended a hand, reaching toward her hair curiously.

Wrapped up in Seraphim, Akina was not exactly paying as much attention as she should to her curious toddler whose hand continue to reach forward toward Papree's hair. "Actually, I had taken Brim out here to bond over some picnic food and swimming." Fishing wasn't exactly something Akina enjoyed so it had never crossed her mind that it was a potential activity at the lake. She had always just visited Bass'ken Lake to swim and see the sights. "Oh, and don't worry. I've had Brim for a while now, and he is not much of a talker either."

Brimstone's mouth formed an 'O' as he zeroed in on Papree, finally wriggling fingers in the midst of the purple locks. Oooooh... they were soft just as much as they were pretty. A little part of Brim might have swooned at this moment, but at his age, he counted it up to an empty stomach. Still, the care with which he gently felt Papree's hair was far different from the abrasive way he had attacked Shauna's tail at his very first meeting of another toddler.

Perhaps the little boy was maturing?

Cocking his head to one side, Brim grabbed a fistful of hair and tugged just slightly out of curiousity. Well, atleast he was maturing a little. Akina gasped at the sight of her son tugging at the other girl's hair, swatting his hands away and chiding her son harshly. "No, Brim! That is not nice. We don't pull other people's hair like that." Mid-scold, Brimstone still seemed wrapped up in the gleam of Papree's hair. He like how vibrant it was, just like his!

The beach? Akina had never gone to the beach before. She had just always preferred lakes and rivers. Most likely, this was because in her old land, there had been no beaches that could be visited by her town. "I've never been to that beach, actually. I've just always stuck with lakes and rivers, I guess." She smiled, checking back on Brim to ensure he had not tried to take a sample of Papree's hair for himself.

"I was a quiet child," Akina responded, glancing back in the direction of her picnic lunch. "Well, Seraphim, if you and Papree have given up on fishing, you are welcome to join Brim and I for picnic and a nice swim. It looks like you might have gotten a headstart on the swimming though." The elf laughed lightly, shifting her weight between both legs.

Having crossed his arms following his mother's scolding, Brim pouted a little, that is, until he noted Papree's hand reaching out toward him. He jumped back for a moment, but froze, watching her curiously. What was she doing?

Watching Seraphim snatch up Papree, Akina followed suit, but far less flawlessly. Instead of swooping him over her shoulder, Brim more or less somersaulted into her chest, nearly kicking her right in the teeth. The elf deflected of course and got a face full of toddler butt instead. Blushing a bit, she righted Brimstone and led the way off toward their picnic, hiding her shame as she spoke.

"Brim and I always sit at the same spot. It's lovely, really. Beneath a large oak tree, right next to the water. It's pretty grassy, too, so you don't need to worry about getting any more mud on you." The blue-eyed elf chuckled good-naturedly as they neared her picnic basket and blanket. Setting Brim down, Akina watched as her son ran up to the edge of the water, leaned close to the surface, and then fled back to the blanket. He repeated this several times before turning his attention back to Papree.

Cocking his head to one side, he shouted in the purple-haired girl's direction, bellowing a charming, "C'mon, purpyhead!" before frolicking back to the water's edge with a grin.